Naomi the Wordsmith

Hey everyone, I know it’s been a while since I last posted here. It’s been a busy few months and when I’ve had quieter times I’ve been battling rough times. Always something to keep me away from the keyboard but sometimes you just have to be a rebel and write anyway!

First, I went on that holiday I mentioned, cruising around the Baltics at Christmastime. I took a bunch of pics and am planning to write four or five posts about it, especially the destinations. I’ve never seen Christmastime look just like in the cards and movies before, but this holiday showed that it really is real!

Once I got back from that trip, I was absolutely exhausted. I’d overdone things a bit, trying to see as much as I could, so it took a toll on me. I spent a few weeks in bed from the pain. Sometimes it felt like every step forward lead to an even bigger setback.

And then I got the flu. And then a few weeks later norovirus. As usual it seems my immune system doesn’t want to fight the bugs, but make friends instead.

My immune system is a traitor.

So to keep myself somewhat relaxed with all this going on, I downloaded a mobile game because I saw some ads that made it look interesting. It was nothing like the ads.

Whiteout Survival lures in a lot of players who come for the ad experience, but stay for the friendships and the drama.

I joined an alliance and noticed a few weeks later that my alliance leader wanted more R4s (see R4 as a leadership role, but you’re not The Leader). I played quite a bit so I said I was interested and asked him what the responsibilities were. One minute later I got no answer other than being promoted to R4.

And so started a very stressful week where I got barely any sleep and forgot to eat a few times. It felt like I couldn’t log off because every time I did, something happened and the alliance needed me. The alliance I was in was dying anyway, due to inactive players. All one of the other R4s and I were doing was slowing the descent of a sinking ship. Eventually, it was going to go under the waves and there was nothing we could do about it.

I’m glad I signed up to the experience though, I made some friends and helped people with my advice. I still stay in touch with them, which is nice. It’s not often that you find an online game with a friendly and welcoming community.

Now I’m just a normal player in a different alliance. I still give advice and help where I can, but I’m allowed to log off the game and get some sleep. Sweet bliss!

In other news, I saw my monitor was slowly dying and decided to get a new one. It looks a lot better and has a much better frame rate. The new monitor arrived the morning after the old one suddenly died while I was playing a game. Good timing!

So with my games playing faster and looking incredible now, I’m playing all my old games with the wide-eyed open-mouthed wonder of someone playing them for the first time. They look so real now.

I’ve also started playing Star Wars Outlaws, which is interesting. The accessibility options seem good.

And finally, I want to finish this quick update with this message: Happy Hearing Aid Day!

Today I’ve been reflecting on how grateful I am that I got them so young. A big part of the reason why I can communicate as well as I can is my hearing aids. I’d be a very different person without them.

If you missed the post last year and want to read about what is hearing aid day and why we celebrate it, click here to check it out.